Change Management Basics

The Change Management Basics to Get Right

What Is Change Management?
We define the change management basics as the process of helping people successfully and consistently embrace new ideas, beliefs, and behaviors. We know from change management consulting research that successful leaders consistently anticipate and respond to internal and external shifts by implementing new ways of thinking and working. And the success of new ways hinges on winning the hearts and minds of people affected by the desired changes. That is where the change management basics matter most.

Why Is Change Management Important? 
Successful change leaders know that organizational change is everybody’s job because new strategies, structures, processes, and technologies usually affect everyone and therefore require active involvement and buy-in across the board for success.

6 Change Methodology Principles to Keep in Mind
If you are embarking on organizational change, here are six change methodology principles to keep in mind:

1. Change is a process, not an event. Treat it as such.
2. Change occurs at an individual and organizational level. You must navigate and balance both.
3. Stakeholder involvement is necessary, but not sufficient. You need active involvement that drives commitment.
4. Change urgency is good, change anxiety is bad. Push, but not too hard.
5. Change communication is critical. Honest and transparent two-way conversations are a must-have.
6. Leaders and high performers must “walk the talk.” Behaviors matter more than words.

What’s Required for Change to Be Successful?
To successfully adopt change at work, people must be ready, willing, and able to embrace the new ways of thinking and behaving. From a change management basics perspective, we recommend a simple three-step change management framework:

• Step 1 – Be Ready Enough
  People need to understand the ‘why’ and ‘what’ of the change from the perspective of the organization enough to be ready to change.
• Step 2 – Be Willing Enough
  People need to understand and care about the benefits of the change for themselves enough to be willing to change.
• Step 3 – Be Able Enough
  People need enough of the right skills, and the organization needs to create the right conditions for behavior change to stick.

7 Steps to Get Buy-In from Teams and Organizations
We know from change management simulation data that behavior change happens one person at a time. To successfully scale behavior change across teams and organizations requires a thoughtful and disciplined approach. Here is a seven-step organizational change process to get buy-in from teams and organizations:

The first three steps are required to align key stakeholders around the problem that you are trying to solve:

1. Understand
   Ensure everyone affected by change understands the business case for change at the individual, team, and organizational levels.
2. Enroll
   After you understand the need for change, enlist the support of a core team of powerful change catalysts to develop a shared vision and strategy that will be rolled out to the entire organization. They often need customized change management training to succeed in their role,
3. Visualize
   You must create a strong change vision to manage change successfully.  This requires a clear and compelling description of a desired end state that appeals to key stakeholders and provides guidance and coherence along the way.

The next four steps are required to fully engage the organization in new ways.

4. Motivate
   Successful change implementation requires that affected employees feel a meaningful connection with the new strategic direction and their role in the process.  Communicate a sense of urgency and explain the change thoroughly before any action is taken. You will only succeed if you are patient.People must first understand why change must occur before they are expected to adopt change.  Go slow to go fast.  Do not underestimate the challenge of breaking employees from their comfortable ways.

   Employees crave the security associated with the status quo and tend to discount the significance of new corporate initiatives borne high in the managerial ranks. Help employees at all levels understand the business and personal consequences associated with the status quo.

   Over 75% of people in a company should be convinced that business-as-usual is unacceptable before executing the remainder of the change program.

5. Communicate
   Soon after a sense of urgency pervades the organization but before any action is taken to change systems, structures, and processes, make sure that you communicate the change vision to affected employees.  The vision for change provides a guiding path and a framework for understanding all ensuing change. It will assist employees by promoting clarity despite organizational instability.
6. Act
   After laying the foundation for action by following the first five stages of the change model you are ready to execute. Take steps to align the formal organization (systems, structures, and processes) with the new vision and strategy.
7. Consolidate
   By the time organizations reach the Consolidate stage, the change program has been alive in the organization for some time. Employees report that stress at this stage is caused less from uncertainty and more from burnout. Employees struggle to maintain motivation despite workload demands caused by the changes and the learning of new skills.At this stage you must work hard to maintain the momentum of the change effort through proper pacing. That means planning for quick wins, starting small, and developing new targets after quick wins.

The Bottom Line
We know from project postmortem data that most failed changed projects start at Step #5: Communicate.  This is a mistake.  Before you begin to “Tell” and “Act,” you need to align key stakeholders around the problem that you are trying to solve and ensure enough motivation to change.  Are you going slow to go fast?

To learn more about change management basics, download How to Mobilize, Design and Transform Your Change Initiative

Tristam Brown

Tristam Brown is a seasoned business consultant and organizational development expert with more than three decades of experience helping organizations accelerate performance, build high-impact teams, and turn strategy into execution. As CEO of LSA Global, he works with leaders to get and stay aligned™ through research-backed strategy, culture, and talent solutions that produce measurable, business-critical results. See full bio.